Wal-Mart Records $157 Million Charge for Mexican Bribery Probe

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. took a $157 million charge in its 2013 fiscal year for the ongoing probe into allegations company officials in Mexico bribed local officials to get a Wal-Mart built near an ancient pyramid site.

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Wal-Mart says it spent $157 million in its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter on an investigation involving alleged bribes made by company officials in Mexico.

The figure was contained in Wal-Mart’s 10-K filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 31.

Wal-Mart said it expects to incur another $40 million to $45 million in charges in the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year related to the investigation into whether it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials, and to other compliance matters.

Wal-Mart denied allegations made by some U.S. lawmakers it knew about the bribes. The matter continues to be investigated by Congress, the SEC and the Department of Justice. Wal-Mart says it is cooperating in all the investigations, and is conducting its own internal investigation.

The New York Times in December broke the story of how Wal-Mart officials in Mexico allegedly paid bribes to win approval for a store near the pyramids in San Juan Teotihuacan, after local officials had approved zoning changes to limit growth around the popular tourist destination.

Write to Ben DiPietro at ben.dipietro@dowjones.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenDiPietro1.

Correction: An earlier version of the story reported in the first paragraph the $157 million charge was for the fiscal 2013 fourth quarter. It was for the full fiscal 2013 year.

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